About Buildings + Cities

A valiant attempt to understand Aldo Rossi's 1966 'L'Architettura della Citta', a book which both Luke & George have owned for years, but which neither have actually read until now (the pictures are nice, and the spine is an attractive orange colour). Aldo Rossi's celebrity began with this book, and a certain mythic image of him – gloomy, nostalgic, perverse – is widely recognised within architectural history. But what does the book actually say? We explore monuments, urban artifacts, fragments of the city, the persistence of time and memory; and the promise of a new 'science' of urban analysis. Music – 'Sleep Trance' and 'Ciro' both by Lee Rosevere from the albums 'Time-Lapse Volume 3: ASMR' and 'Farrago Zabriskie'... at the Free Music Archive http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/ Look at pictures on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

The collapse of the Imperial German state after WW1 seemed an opportunity for Taut and his fellow visionaries to become architect-leaders themselves, and shape the form of post-war society. But faced with widespread political violence, and all at sea in dealing with bureaucratic power, Taut and his fellow avant-gardists retreated together into the secret group correspondance – 'The Crystal Chain'. The final episode in our three part exploration of the Glass Dream, including ecstatic visions, the architecture school as monastery, and Bruno Taut's pitch for a big-budget movie feature – 'The Lucky Slippers.' Music by – Chris Zabriskie 'Cylinder 2', 'Cylinder 4', 'Cylinder 5', 'Cylinder 6' and 'Cylinder 7' from the album 'Cylinders' at the Free Music Archive at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/2014010103336111/ ‘Tarnished Copper’ from the album ‘Marimba, Vibraphone, Chimes & Bells’ by Podington Bear at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Marimba_Vibraphone_Chimes__Bells Look at pictures on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

Paul Scheerbart is dead, and Europe has dissolved into conflict, but the Glass Dream continues. Luke & George explore Bruno Taut's manifestos, the dissolution of the dirty old cities, the transfiguration of the Alps into crystal, and the uniting of the people around the new religion – architecture. Featuring Alpine Architecture (1917), The City Crown (1919), The Dissolution of the Cities & the Earth – a Good Dwelling (1920), and an original audio-only translation of Die Weltbaumeister: An Architecture Play (1920). Music by – Chris Zabriskie 'Cylinder 2' and 'Cylinder 9' from the album 'Cylinders' at the Free Music Archive at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Chris_Zabriskie/2014010103336111/ Lee Rosevere 'Cat Wearing Glasses' from the album 'Disquiet Junto' at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Disquiet_Junto/ Schemawound 'If You See Nothing' from the album '@@TRANCOUNT' at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Schemawound/TRANCOUNT/ Look at pictures on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

We begin a three-part exploration of the Glass Paradise – an early 20th vision of a better world – starting off with Bruno Taut’s extraordinary Glashaus (1914), and the even stranger text which inspired it, Paul Scheerbart’s ‘Glassarchitektur’. Conceived as a model for a new and more beautiful way of living – the Glashaus is a glimpse at a future that never came to pass, filled with jewel-like cites and kaleidoscopic colour. Also, vacuum cleaners as insect exterminators, spinning crystal globes at every door, gold-leafed factories, glass fibre soft furnishings, and the ever-present threat of zeppelin attack. Much of our material is drawn from the excellent ’Glass! Love!! Perpetual Motion!!! A Paul Scheerbart Reader’ by Josiah McElheny & Christine Burgin (eds) (University of Chicago, 2015) – highly recommended. Music by – Albert Campbell & Irving Gillette ‘By the dear old River Rhine’ (1911) at https://archive.org/details/edba-2410 Arthur F. Collins, Byron G. Harlan ‘On the banks of the Rhine with a Stein’ (1905) https://archive.org/details/edgm-9124 ‘Ice Chimes’ from the album ‘Disquiet Junto’ by Lee Rosevere at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Disquiet_Junto ‘Tarnished Copper’ from the album ‘Marimba, Vibraphone, Chimes & Bells’ by Podington Bear at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Marimba_Vibraphone_Chimes__Bells Look at pictures on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

Luke & George visit and discuss Switch House, the new extension to Tate Modern – and the architects of both it, and the original museum, Herzog & de Meuron. Plus – thoughts on the machine tool utopia also known as Switerland, design process, and the centrality of the spreadsheet in modern architecture. Music: ‘Holy Roller’ from the album ‘Shangri-La (Instrumentals)’ by YACHT. From the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org Look at pictures on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

Luke & George read and discuss Pliny the Younger’s two luxurious (but still so modest!) villas, as described in his letters. The box hedges have been trimmed, and dinner is swimming around on the back of a wooden duck. We discussed the essay ‘The Villa as Paradigm’ by James Ackerman, from Perspecta, Vol. 22, Paradigms of Architecture (1986) pp10-31 Music: ‘Curiousity’ and ‘Quizitive' from the album ‘Music For Podcasts’ by Lee Rosevere. From the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/Music_For_Podcasts/ Look at some images on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

Exploring the history and architecture of the inimitable Barbican Estate, the joys of brutalism, concrete, late modernist planning, concealed historical references, getting lost, etc. Includes a couple of short forays into the imagined lives of inhabitants and visitors... Music includes: ‘Β6’ from the album ‘ΝΕΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΚΟΚΚΑΛΑ’ by Kοκκαλα and ‘Heavy Traffic’ from the album ‘The Happiest Days Of Our Lives’ by Three Chain Links. Both from the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org Look at pictures on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822

George & Luke survey three dystopian cities; the glass perfection of Yvegny Zamyatin’s ‘We’, the consumer World State of Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’, and the shattered ruin of George Orwell’s ‘1984’. Competing visions of technological progress gone awry, and the real-world ideas that inspired them. We read: Yvegeny Zamyatin ‘We’ tr. Clarence Brown (Penguin, 1993) Aldous Huxley ‘Brave New World’ (1932) George Orwell ‘1984’ (1948) Music: ‘Shadows’, ‘Fearweaver’, ‘Bindings’ and ‘Demons’ from the album ‘Phantoms’ by Three Chain Links. From the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org

Explore Horace Walpole's eccentric Gothic villa at Strawberry Hill with readings from 'The Castle of Otranto', medieval music, and George's singing. Discover the unique architectural design, decorative effects, and downfall of the historical figure. Delve into William Beckford's Font Hill Abbey and the surreal decor of an empty house.

The first episode of a new podcast! Luke and George read Hermann Muthesius's early 20th c. epic 'The English House'. Learn about the English, their famed love of nature, damp, draughty buildings and burnt meat. Discover how these strange proclivities shape the homes they build and inhabit. With digressions on inglenooks, William Morris, and how to become 'safe for the drawing room'. The edition we read was this one: Hermann Muthesius, Dennis Sharp (ed) ‘The English House’ (Rizzoli, 1979) https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0CdUAAAAMAAJ&dq=editions:ISBN0847802191 Music: Ukrainska Orchestra Pawla Humeniuka ‘Kozak-Trepak’ From the Free Music Archive at freemusicarchive.org Look at images of the projects on our Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104384327113725304822